Scripted series · BBC One
Wolf Hall
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Mark Rylance
Thomas Cromwell
12 eps
Damian Lewis
Henry VIII
12 eps
Claire Foy
Anne Boleyn
10 eps
Thomas Brodie-Sangster
Rafe Sadler
12 eps
Joss Porter
Richard Cromwell
12 eps
Jonathan Pryce
Cardinal Wolsey
8 eps
Bernard Hill
Duke of Norfolk
6 eps
Charlie Rowe
Gregory Cromwell
6 eps
Harry Lloyd
Harry Percy
3 eps
Kate Phillips
Jane Seymour
10 eps
Hannah Steele
Mary Shelton
8 eps
Jessica Raine
Jane Rochford
6 eps
Anton Lesser
Thomas More
6 eps
Harry Melling
Thomas Wriostheley
6 eps
Joanne Whalley
Katherine of Aragon
3 eps
Mark Gatiss
Stephen Gardiner
4 eps
Ed Speleers
Edward Seymour
4 eps
Luke Roberts
Harry Norris
5 eps
Tom Holland
Gregory Cromwell
4 eps
James Larkin
William Fitzwilliam
8 eps
Will Keen
Thomas Cranmer
9 eps
Emma Hiddleston
Meg More
2 eps
Enzo Cilenti
Antonio Bonvisi
2 eps
Jonathan Aris
James Bainham
2 eps
Benjamin Whitrow
Archbishop Warham
2 eps
Charity Wakefield
Mary Boleyn
3 eps
Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Elizabeth Barton
2 eps
Thomas Arnold
Hans Holbein
5 eps
Natasha Little
Liz Cromwell
3 eps
Richard Dillane
Duke of Suffolk
10 eps
Robert Wilfort
George Cavendish
4 eps
Saskia Reeves
Johane Williamson
5 eps
Mary Jo Randle
Mercy Pryor
3 eps
Max Fowler
Mark Smeaton
4 eps
Edward Holcroft
George Boleyn
5 eps
Alastair Mackenzie
William Brereton
4 eps
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Francis Weston
5 eps
Joel MacCormack
Thomas Wriothesley
5 eps
Tim Steed
Lord Chancellor Audley
3 eps
Iain Batchelor
Thomas Seymour
3 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Wolf Hall actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Wolf Hall reads strongest on Character Depth, Emotional Weight and Bingeability.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
The story
What it's about
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the King dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope and most of Europe oppose him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer, and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
The run
Seasons
2 seasons · 12 episodes.
Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
20156 episodes
7.4IMDbBest episode · S01E06 Master of Phantoms
Season 2 · Complete
The Mirror and the Light
20246 episodes
6.8IMDbMay, 1536. Anne Boleyn, Henry's second wife, is dead. As the axe drops, Thomas Cromwell emerges from the bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour.
Best episode · S02E06 Light
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S01E06 · Signature episode
Master of Phantoms
After uncovering treasonable offences, Cromwell exacts the ultimate revenge.
- Directed by Peter Kosminsky
S01E05 · Signature episode
Crows
The Act of Supremacy has declared Henry supreme head of the church of England.
- Directed by Peter Kosminsky
S01E02 · Signature episode
Entirely Beloved
As Cardinal Wolsey retreats north, he urges Cromwell to get close to Anne Boleyn.
- Directed by Peter Kosminsky
S01E03 · Signature episode
Anna Regina
Cromwell has Parliament acknowledge Henry as head of the Church of England.
- Directed by Peter Kosminsky
S01E01 · Signature episode
Three Card Trick
Lacking a male heir, the King is desperate to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon.
S02E06
Light
Cromwell is stripped of his titles and brought to the Tower of London on a charge of treason. He has no friends to speak for him but plenty of enemies among his prosecutors.
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
- Photo unavailable
Hilary Mantel
Creator
Peter Straughan
Showrunner
Peter Kosminsky
Creator
Noëlette Buckley
Executive producer
Lucy Richer
Executive producer
Colin Callender
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Susanne Simpson
Executive producer
Rebecca Eaton
Executive producer
- Photo unavailable
Polly Hill
Executive producer
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Noëlette BuckleyExecutive Producer
- Lucy RicherExecutive Producer
- Mark PybusProducer
- Lisa OsborneProducer
- Colin CallenderExecutive Producer
- Susanne SimpsonExecutive Producer
Writing
- Peter StraughanWriter
Direction
- Peter KosminskyDirector
Cinematography
- Gavin FinneyDirector of Photography
Music
- Debbie WisemanOriginal Music Composer
Recognition
Awards
2 wins
Golden Globes
1 win · latest 2016
- WinnerGolden Globe Award for Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film2016
Wolf Hall · Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
BAFTA Awards
1 win · latest 2016
- WinnerBritish Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series2016
Wolf Hall · Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- PBSStreaming
- PBS Masterpiece Amazon ChannelStreaming
- ThirteenStreaming
- WETA+Streaming
If you liked this
Similar Series
Series that share this one's texture, not just its genre tags.
The Tudors
2007
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
The Spanish Princess
2019
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
The Pillars of the Earth
2010
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
The Crown
2016
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Poldark
2015
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Scarlet Heart: Ryeo
2016
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Peaky Blinders
2013
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Emma
2009
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
I Love You Since 1892
2025
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Pride and Prejudice
1995
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
The Last Kingdom
2015
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Versailles
2015
Character-driven drama · Similar storytelling style
Where to go from here
Watch Next
Our editors' suggestion for the show you should start tonight — and why.
Peaky Blinders
2013
Another morally complex epic for anyone who wanted more grey.
The Vampire Diaries
2009
Another invented world built with the same seriousness — start at episode one.
Off Campus
2026
Where our editors would send you after the credits roll.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
2022
Continue the epic fantasy journey with another world worth getting lost in.
Perry Mason
1957
Watch this next if you like protagonists you can't quite defend.
Midsomer Murders
1997
A crime story told with the patience of a novel.
Never stop watching
Related Collections
No related collections yet
This title isn't in a published Nutevio collection yet. It will appear here automatically as soon as it is.
Join the conversation